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A Commercial Market for Organs? Why Not?

Creator

Manga, Pranlal

Bibliographic Citation

Bioethics. 1987 Oct; 1(4): 321-338.

Abstract

Manga examines the issues surrounding controversial proposals to commercialize organ procurement as a means of reducing the shortage of organs for transplantation. He begins by attempting to define the term "commercialization." Then he discusses the ethical issues of a market approach to organ procurement: the exploitation of the poor, especially in the Third World; the potential negative effect on voluntary donation; the right to dispose of a body or its parts as private property; the question of justice in access to organs; the quality of purchased organs; and the overall social implications of a policy that allows or even encourages the buying and selling of a desperately-needed medical resource. Manga next considers alternative solutions to increasing the supply of organs, and recommends a strategy that could alleviate the organ shortage without resorting to commercialization. (KIE abstract)